January 13, 2013 1:38 pm

AP photo

Obviously, the outcome isn’t what you guys wanted. The Seahawks’ dreaded first half was ultimately their downfall. It’s been a crazy ride this season. And the Seahawks’ future is certainly bright. I want to thank all who participated on the chat each week. It was a little crazy, very passionate and always entertaining.

Let’s get to it

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it?

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why?

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations?

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they?

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Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

Needs: Another pass rusher. Clemons was the difference in this game. IF Seattle’s schemes take away the outside, then Seattle needs more pass rush to keep teams from picking them apart on the inside.

I’m not sure why Seattle’s run defense softened so badly the last 8 games, and I don’t know what the fix is. Probably they need an upgrade at defensive tackle.

Seattle did exceed my expectations, so I should be happy. Wilson far exceeded my expectations and drove the team to heights I didn’t think they would hit this season. They’re a year ahead of schedule and young, but now they need to focus on getting home field advantage for at least one playoff game. (i.e. win the division.)

I’m not sure they would have beaten the 49ers on the road, not with the way the defense played today.

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it?

red zone twice and no points – even with the Defense playing crappy – you have to have points there

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why?

Ice the kicker since it was the last

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations?

Yes it did – I expected 9-7 or 10-6 at best, winning some of the games at home that we did and 2 huge road wins (Chicago and Washington) set us up for next season.

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they?

Both OL and DL have to be WAY more consistent!! You saw today what we can do if we can actually block WITHOUT using the TE. and the DL has to be able to get pressure at least sometime during the game. and not look horrible against the run while they do it

5. If you take one thing away from the season, what is it?

RW is a player – we still can’t pressure the QB and we are not good at 3rd and long (either side)

I’ve been surprised that our lack of QB pressure hadn’t hurt us more before this game. But Ryan had too much time. We need someone who can put an opposing QB’s ass in the dirt. Looking forward to Schneider working some more draft magic.

Close losses always hurt because you never lose hope until the last second. This loss is painful, but keep your chin up Seahawks fans, we did what we did with a rookie QB. Our horizons are bright.

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it? 4-1 inside the 20. But I’ll have to put it second only to the ML fumble.

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why? 4-1 inside the 20. Easiest call to make is FG. No doubt about it.

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations? Absolutely.

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they? Defensive line, wide-out, and some linebacker depth. Beyond that, teaching our linebackers how to defense the pass better would be huge. Of course, some of that comes with experience such as the kind they got today.

5. If you take one thing away from the season, what is it?– It’s nice to have a true franchise quarterback. He’ll keep us in the running for years to come.

I’m SO PROUD of this Seahawks team. Thanks for the great season and for growing by leaps and bounds right before our eyes. Thanks to Paul Allen, the FO and everyone from there all the way to the water boy. Thanks to the Trib for this blog! Thanks to all the posters, you guys have been entertaining and enlightening.

Looking back in hindsight, we would not have won the super bowl the way our D was playing anyway. I would rather lose to the Falcons than the niners. We have some glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed if we really want to go all the way next year.
1. We need to upgrade at DT, fix our run D. Red Bryant did not play well.
2. We need more pass rush. Someone like Chandler Jones, an every down DE. Our 3rd and long breakdowns start with pressure on the QB or lack thereof.
3. We need our LB’s to improve in coverage and/or need to upgrade at nickel corner. Trufant got burned all year and Guy didn’t get it done today.
4. We need a young stud wideout with some size, a legitimate burner. We don’t have a true deep threat to stretch the field consistently.
5. We need to draft another lineman, maybe right guard. Competition can’t hurt.

Pass rush continues to be an issue. If Carp can get/stay healthy we are probably ok at guard. This is what, the 3rd game we give up a game winning drive in the closing seconds. I think that’s pass rush

I really don’t understand how Seattle’s prevent coverage could be so soft, it allowed 29 and 19 yard passes consecutively. Of course, on the last pass Seattle sent 5 or 6, and they didn’t get home. It was a gamble on getting to Ryan, and it fizzled.

The 29 yarder though – while Ryan had time, it wasn’t like he needed forever for that to open up. I don’t think Seattle should have given up more than 10-15 yards per play when in a prevent. It’s what has killed them all year. Need to tweak that coverage scheme.

I would like to know who called that mysterious time out when the kicker was going to kick it & miss? Look like to me that Pete Carroll didn’t call it & who ever did, should been punish as that could been game..

Pete Carroll need to improve on better clock managing as Seahawks would have won it with the final drive..

Defensive need to improve as our Run defensive just got their butt kick…

Thought overall good game… Let go Falcons as don’t want to see 49ers win on sunday..

First of all, dspite the loss I think the second half showed that when we are rolling, we by far the best team in the NFL, I don’t think anyone wants to dispute that, right?

Second of all, we found our franchise QB, Russell Wilson was once again terrific, sure he probably missed some throws, but he is a rookie down by a heck of a lot, on the road, and still manages to bring it that close.

Finally, experience! All the money, talent and coaching in the world wouldn’t have been able to give the Hawks what they’ve learned this season. Despite playing very bad from time to time, and giving up too many yards in the most important situations (see: today) they’ve really been through it all, terrible losses, amazing comebacks, winning with style, being huge underdogs, getting down by A LOT in road playoff games and still prevailing, and guess what? This is still one of the youngest teams in the NFL, and I’m sure it will get younger in the offseason. Once you wash off this empty, sour, nasty feeling I’m sure most of us feel, this season has been amazing and incredibly valuable to the entire organization, a few plays here and there throughout the season and we’d have had that #1 seed, a few plays today and we’d have been in the NFC championship, you can point fingers and be disappointed all you want, but at least try and be happy for the future.

Our coaching staff and Gameplan were terrible. After an epic record breaking come from behind to take the lead with 31 seconds left our D FAILED. Please Bradley, go take your soft zone to Philly and lose there. Wilson is so amazing. I can’t believe they got all the way there just to give up two long passes. SORRY and Bradley needs to go lose games elsewhere. What a complete waste. Sure the season was fun and exceeded my expectations, but then you lay down after coming back. So weak and will wreck havoc on this team for years.

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it? Lack of tackling and execution. It was not just the big plays but the many little things that didn’t get the D off the field.

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why? Not taking the points. Classic rule: take the points unless forced to go for it. 1st half is not late enough in the game to be “forced” into a 4th down conversion in the rz.

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations? Way beyond expectations. Was hoping best case scenario for 10-6 and maybe a wild-card one and done finish.

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they? Better pass rush. Could use to shore up the right side of the o-line a bit for more consistent QB protection, though this game wasn’t too bad. Could use a lights-out #1 receiver.

5. If you take one thing away from the season, what is it? Hope for a dominating year next year. NFC west is now the best in the league. I think the ‘Hawks can take the NFC west for home field advantage next year. Schneider is an ace at drafting diamonds in the rough.

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it? A lot to pick from, but I’d have to say continuing to try and pound up the middle when it obviously wasn’t working.

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why? Obviously the 4th and 1. Turned out to be a game changer, simple as that.

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations? It did and I expect us to be amazing next year.

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they? I think we need another playmaking WR and obviously something needs to be done in the passrush department.

5. If you take one thing away from the season, what is it? Experience. In some ways, there’s not substitute and the Hawks got it.

25 seconds left and I had a bad feeling they were going to lose. Too bad they called Lynch’s TD a TD. Would have been nice to run another play. In retrospect, of course.

1. Aside from not scoring, obviously, I was actually most disappointed with the plays called on the first series. We needed to come out with a bang, especially after the defense held ATL to 3 on the opener. But starting with two standard runs against a stacked box was bad, and the tone for the first quarter was set right there.

2. Pete let his enthusiasm get the best of him on that 4th down. That is the wrong call all the way. It’s not only about giving up the ball with no points. It’s also a huge emotional lift to the Falcons. Also the timeout with like 15 seconds in the first half was unnecessary. I further hate the “ice the kicker” timeout. These guys are pros.

3. Looking back, some of it did, some of it didn’t. I thought that it would be a better defense, especially against the run (I really do not understand why the Falcons threw the ball in the 4th quarter). On the other hand, I complained loudly when Pete named RW the starter. There I was wrong. The guy is the real deal on all levels.

4. OL and DL are top priority. If Miller doesn’t have to stay in, the possibilities are limitless. DL has to generate pressure with four or we’re far less effective, especially with their nickel CBs. Seahawks address these areas and I’ll be happy. Then it wouldn’t hurt to add a WR, not necessarily in the draft, or Baldwin turns back the clock.

5. Pete isn’t the greatest mind in all of coaching. I like him, but I see why he’s been fired previously. That said, he and his staff have done a great job building this team up from where it was. They have a lot of potential in the future and I have confidence they’ll make the right moves. Then they can be good in spite of his decisions.

More help at both lines, we STILL need pass rush (can’t believe I’m still saying that, how many years has that problem existed???) I think a 2nd tight end should be a priority, someone to help out the BEAST that is Zach Miller (why did it take that long to start using him???) and a #2 receiver, Golden came into his own this year, but I think he might be better in the slot, another big body lining up opposite of Rice would be great.

I dont normally comment, however I do enjoy the comments posted. To me this loss looked a lot like the Miami and Detroit games where we lost late game leads. I put the loss on the defense. We need to find ways to get a more consistent pash rush and make some stops when necessary. A playoff defense should be able to hold a lead with 26 seconds left.

That being said, what a season! I have high hopes for this team next year. As Eric has said many times, this team is being built for a run next year and I am looking forward to it. Lets get a dominant OL and DL in place.

It would have been nice to win, but that’s the way the game goes. As a fan, every loss this year was close and made the games exciting to watch even if they didn’t win. That’s better than watching them get blown out.

No one was expecting much from the Seahawks this year. But we now know we have a franchise QB to build around. That’s a biggie. And he’s gotten some good playoff experience.

We need a stronger pass rush and a speedy receiver to spread things out. Considering the youth on the team, I think we’ll have a few years of playoff games with a SB win in there somewhere. But at least we’re not one of those dismal teams with little hope.

I’m very disappointed that the defense couldn’t hold on for 30 the last 30 seconds of the game – same thing happened in the Chicago game that forced us to play overtime. This needs to be fixed.

Other than that – it was a terrific season. You have to feel good about the future of this team. Russell Wilson is the real deal.

I hope Clem comes back strong, because I don’t think we can count on Irvin yet. I think we need another pass rushing DE (and / or DT). I hope we ca resign Alan Branch. I think we also need to add another LB, one who is good in coverage.

Won’t surprise me if this is Trufant and Hills last rodeo for the Seahawks.

DT and WR in the draft, that would be my pick. I’d thought we should go after a TE, I don’t think that anymore. Miller look great in these two playoff games, so I will forever shut up about him.

Seeing Irvin try to bull rush these guys who have 100 lbs on him has me concerned that he’s just too small to be a real effective pass rusher – but it’s way too early to bail on him. He did show some signs, and hopefully we can teach him a bunch of moves.

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it?
So many things going wrong, if I had to point out 1 thing it would be going for it on 4th down. Hated the call before they even ran it, and in the end that field goal probably would have won us the game. RW getting sacked and costing us another field goal was equally painfull.

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why?
Either not kicking the field goal in the 1st half or calling timeout on the Falcons field goal at the end, I absolutely hate icing the kicker it backfires way too often.

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations?
I predicted 10-6 or 11-5 with at least 1 playoff win. Losing today sucks but the growth this team has shown is exciting going into next season. It feels strange saying the defense needs work after leading the league in scoring but the run defense has been awful and they need to work on making stops in critical situations.

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they?
Defense, defense, and defense. Improve the pass rush and get another dominating big body DT to play between Mebane and Big Red.

5. If you take one thing away from the season, what is it?
They are capable of beating anybody even in the face of tremendous adversity, and are one of the youngest teams in the league. It was a really good year of football and all the pieces are in place to keep getting better.

blaming Bradley is well and good – but our defense was the one on the field. it was the lack of pass rush that led to White’s catch on the last drive, and that catch was the key to their win. maybe we could have sent more guys, I don’t know, but it’s a personnel thing too. we don’t have a dangerous pass rusher w/out clemons.

and a little credit where it’s due – after giving up 20 in the first half, our D held atlanta to 7 in the 2nd half until that last 30 seconds. And they got us the turnovers, and then held Atl on 3rd down, allowing us to get the ball back in RW’s hands. If our D doesn’t make the stop there, our gamewinning drive (sigh) never gets a chance to start.

It still was a great game. I could point fingers about what could have been, but I’ve always been an onward and upward kind of guy. The past is settled and this team has plenty of future ahead of them.

They do need pass rush, but that’s a lower level of priority. I’d say 3-technique DT is the top priority. You can’t depend on the health of one guy to determine your entire run defensive success. They also have to replace Trufant at nickel CB, but that could be done with the players they have developing. That doesn’t mean Thurmond. I’ve seen enough injuries and it’s time to move on. Kam also had a bad season, but I’m not going to give up on him.

On offense, it’s hard to say guard at either side just because both are young and will develop, but if you’re going to be a running team, you need to put some resources down on those positions. Carp and Moffitt especially shouldn’t be let to feel like their roster spots are safe.

Generally, the starters are safe, but this has been a fortunate season in regards to injuries. The team has tons of cap room and I’d like to see them use it to extend contracts for the top guys becoming FAs in 2014 and focus on depth, depth, depth.

What Carroll and Bradley couldn’t do was compensate for the loss of their only reliable pass rusher, Clemons. Irvin’s not ready to be a full time player yet, and not only failed to bring a rush, but also didn’t hold up to the run either.

Thus, I would say that Seattle’s thinnest position is defensive end (having an all-around end, or a reliable pass rushing end.) Take away their best player at the position, and they’re crippled much like the 49ers without Justin Smith. Look how much better the 49er defense suddenly looked with Smith playing to 80-90% yesterday.

Pabuwal – That was a brilliant adjustment Atl made to exploit Seattle’s coverage. At some point even you must give credit to well executed football, even if you don’t respect Ryan.

Moreover, there is no chance Walsh passes on points (a FG in this case) early in the second quarter as Carroll did (read his book). So your point about the ’81 SF / Dallas matchup is rendered meaningless. That is, Seattle kicks that FG, Seattle wins.

OMG I feel like punching a wall, or something. I’m proud of our team, but I still feel empty. Life will go on, but to lose a lead with only 30 seconds left pierces my soul.

I knew that losing Clem was a big deal. I also knew that playing at 10:00 a.m. was a big deal too. For real, notice how much better we played in the second half. If this game starts at 4:00 p.m. we win.

Real talk, I want to start a petition that says West Coast teams traveling east don’t play at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. After all, if you notice, thanks to the Steelers complaining, as my understanding goes, East coast teams don’t travel to west coast during consecutive weeks. Based on that, at the very least, considering Circadian Biorhythms, West Coast teams traveling east shouldn’t have to play at 10:00 a.m.

I’ve always thought Ryan was a good QB. My argument was that he’s not elite. Today is more proof of that. We’ve seen the Seahawks blow leads to far worse QBs.

Legends are built through clutch 4th quarter play. Russell Wilson had one of the great 4th quarter performances in NFL history and it was for nothing and there will be little recognition for this.

I can not recall a defense allowing 43 yards in a mere 12 seconds in this situation in the 30 years I have watched the NFL playoffs.

The Seahawks were the healthiest they have ever been through this season. This was one of the top 3 opportunities they have had to win the Super Bowl in the 30 years I followed them. They blew it in a way everyone could have imagined.

1. Run D. We missed clem in more than the pass rush. Way to many long drives.
2. If you are going to “ice the kicker” DON’T LET HIM GET THE KICK OFF!!! Call the time out as soon as they line up. Letting a proffesional kicker get a practice kick in is an advantage!!!
3.Great season, but it could have been a miraculous season. The opportunities were there.
4.The Hawks have Cap money too. Pass rush through DE, DL, or LB they need MORE PRESSURE without giving up run protection. Also try to keep the coaching staff together. They need to complete this thing.
5.Anything can happen!!! Keep plugging away, trying hard but every play matters. And for the GM keep the core together and happy!

I think getting Jason Jones signed to at least a 3-4 year contract needs to be a huge priority for this team in the offseason. He was very much an unsung hero of this defense and their pass rush. There was 1 game around midseaon(can’t remember which) and obviously the last 3 games after he landed on IR where our pass rush was totally nonexistant. He didn’t have alot of stats himself but he definetly helped free up Clemons and Irvin to get to the QB. And I hate to say it but I think Clemons as as good as done. At his age and considering the severity of his knee injury it is very unlikely he will return to the same form. Our 2nd offseason priority should be finding his replacement, then if Clemons does return to form, we have a fantastic pass rush.

You know your squad is great when trollers come invading. Cant wait for the draft, and next year. Breath it in deeply boys, we are about to experience a LONG run of some seriously great Seahawk football for years to come. We will be the next Pats…

Great team, great year and incredibly promising future. A franchise quarterback who will not only lead us to Super Bowl win but will become the greatest Seahawk ever. The offense looks close to becoming a world beater, they are the strength of this team.

That said, our defense is wildly over-rated. Yeah Clem hurt, but to lose one guy and have nothing behind him?

Our defense doesn’t lack for self-confidence, but I’d rather they shut up and play better. They are nowhere near as good as their numbers indicate. Had they shown up when it counted in Miami we’d have a #2 seed and probably going to Atlanta next week. Legion of Boom my ass. Drop the nicknames and the bravado and get it done…and that will require a rebuilt defensive front and defensive backfield that covers as well as it shoots its mouth.

Philly, or whoever, can have Bevell and Bradley. Bevell should have known sooner that Atlanta was going to focus on stopping the run. Those short to intermediate passes were there in the first half of the game: Bevell was too inept to capitalize on the short to intermediate passing plays earlier.

As far as Gus Bradley goes, granted, he did a decent job of limiting Atlanta’s passing game early; but at the latest, in the second quarter, he should have done more to stop Atlanta’s running game. Lastly, that soft zone scheme in the final seconds was crap. A 3 man rush with man to man coverage and 3 deep would have won the game. Screw them both.

And Duke is right, the game management by the coaching staff was terrible, especially early. Those points made a difference. They panicked ( like me and a bunch of us), but they get paid for those choices.

“Situational football is not taking points.off the board as Carroll did. that one decision was the.difference”

you must recognize that there are a hundred other plays that came after that, right? If the D gets pressure on Ryan, maybe he doesn’t have time to find White on the last-drive throw, or if RW doesn’t get sacked, we get a FG at the end of the first half?

Point being, it’s not reasonble to pick one play, esp one so much earlier in the game than when things were actually decided, and decree that was the entire reason we lost.

I also think the call to go for a 4th and 1 was defensible in that situation, but that’s a whole different argument.

Since, we’re about to embark on a long off-season, can we at least agree that, while he’s not perfect, Carroll is a damn good coach, who has turned around a listless, aging team, and made them one of the very best in football?

@ Duke and Pabs. Situational football? Really ….Here is a situation for you duke. 46 yards in 25 seconds and that is all you need to know. You can points in first half but who know if our offense would have played differently. Bottom line is the situation that that our offense got it back and only thing we had to do is close. That is the ONLY situation is this that had the win ot loss on it. Bradley should be ashamed…ususally agree w you duke but not this time.!!!We had it and screwed the pooch. Not a lot of opportunities come along like this.

look – it’s not the first time i’ve seen a good nfl defense have this happen to them. when the other team has timeouts, this can happen, esp if you’re not a team that can really get after the opposing QB.

our D did get the ball back for us 3 times in the 4th quarter against a very good Atlanta offense. that’s worth noting too.

Nobody is saying the defense at the end of the game is not the reason for the loss, I think we all agree that those 2 big pss play are absolutely the reason we lost this game. But, our last 2 drives in the 1st half certainly made a difference in the game, and it is those kinds of situations where we also need to improve on if this team is going to take the next step.

sorry about my grammer but I am typing in a shaded area..plus i am old and cant see. Duke but please that last situation is really the only situation that mattered. We got the points and the last situation was a complete failure by our D…Horrible

I love the go for on 4th and one anytime,if we have a defense to back it up,Pete thought we did.In my opinion we lost the game in the last 30 seconds.What a future we have? Who would of thunk it? We need a good draft to keep pace with the Rams and SF and I like our odds on drafting well.

Seattle Seahawks, thank you very much for a great season. Also, thank you to all on this board for your entertaining and informative commentary.

This team is young and it showed on occasion, particularly early in the season. I had a big bellyache when the Hawks started a rookie quarterback in week 1 but that was obviously premature. The Hawks have a franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future (albeit not a tall one). The team has demonstrated that they can beat any other team in the league. The away game issues seem mostly resolved and I choose to believe that all of this will improve from here as the team matures.

The defensive issues versus the run and also generally on third and long are puzzling to me. I cannot tell if this is all scheme but my feeling is the Red Bryant was not 100% the entire season and I am also wondering if Mebane is healthy. Again, I see all this as fixable.

If not for some unnecessary losses (Arizona, Miami, Rams), this team could have been the number 1 seed. In that case I don’t see who would have stopped them at home.

I am pretty irate as well. It would have been nice to win it all, seeing as how we were about as healthy as you could be throughout an entire season.

That being said my top two free agent guys that I would like for us to go full steam ahead for:
1. Henry Melton- Dude is a beast of a DT. Can pass rush and stop the run as well, really well. I wouldn’t mind resigning Jason Jones, but we all know he is not your every down DT.
2. Mike Wallace- He had a down year and dropped quite a few passes, but the talent and play making ability is obvious. They need to go hard for him, and slide Tate over to the slot.

We’re the second youngest team in the NFL. Our young QB goes into next season with 18 games experience as a starter, 2 in the playoffs. All this “we blew our best chance to win the Super Bowl” talk is garbage.

this puts a good spin on things to a certain extent. we went down fighting and frankly everyone else is probably damn glad they don’t have to play us. idk we can either cry in our beer or look forward to next year

Well pabs, last night the Broncos surrendered a pretty safe lead as well, granted it was 30 seconds, not 12, but still. I agree that it has been happening too often and it is a problem for the defense, but it’s not THAT unusual around the league. I think the defense was very up and down today, there were A LOT of missed tackles, which hurt the entire team, but at the same time, Atlanta executed, some of those throws to Gonzales were covered perfectly, yet he still pulled ‘em in, they did force a few turnovers and got the Falcons off the field more than once when we needed to get the ball back. You can’t put it all on one play, one unit or one coach.

thursday & Danielle – right, I was disappointed beyond my imagination when Bryant hit that field goal after that truly epic comeback, and I still feel empty and not that great, tough I honestly think we could have won it all this year, I choose to look forward instead of wondering what could have happened. I’d rather be happy about invaluable experience this team just earned and the future prospects of the Seahawks, than be miserable and angry over missed opportunities, we’ve put up a fight in all losses this season and been extremely competitive even in the games where the team sucked, this team will be a force.

Duke, I hope to God you played football. If so I know that YOU know what matters most is the situation you are in AT THE END OF THE GAME! Stop looking at what Carroll did…3rd and 1 4th and 1 we should have picked it up i have no problem with. Reality is we had the lead with 25 seconds left (after kickoff) and let them go 46 yards to win the game. It is NOT how you start but how you finish. You can look in the past all you want but in the end it did not matter. It was out D (or DC) that took a nap and blew the game.

I’m sick about this loss, I will not point fingers, I’ll not blame the decisions, it is what it is…I think Pete got this Team Playing better than any Hawks team since 05. I think we got best GM out there right now. I really like our Team. We’ll be even better next year. We defenitely have a few holes, not many and another year of experience will help. I want a dominate player in the middle of the D-line, one who move the line and get to QB taking double teams to open up the edge. Also I want a big fast reciever to add to what we have, then another Fast LB to replace Hill, I’ll live with our current o-line to get more picks on defense, and playmakers for pass game. Bring on thew Draft it’s gonna be fun and just wait til next year we will get Home field Adv……Go Hawks

I’m sure you can find many instances in the playoffs where a defense has yielded 43 yards in twelve seconds. All it takes is one play. In Seattle’s case, two plays.

So what coverage or scheme would the naysayers have called? Soft zone is pretty much the standard defense for a prevent. The problem was that instead of giving up a 10 or 15 yard completion over the middle, they gave up a 29 yarder.

How do you know that wasn’t a player error instead of a scheme error?

Man-to-man just means it’s easier for the novice to figure out who’s to blame when it gets burned. Yes, I’m sure with Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, and Roddy White, the best scheme was tight man-to-man with no pass rush. That’s a winning scheme.

better clock management on out last td drive ends this game….coaching staff coached like our young team played at times….i will give credit to the team for hanging in there and playing tough to take the lead as it showed a lot of heart….but for them to work their tail off just to blow it with a 1/2 minute left is painful. russell wilson is for real..trade flynn for some serious beast who can get the qb….remember things are looking up and had they won wilson would be compared to brady for the comeback and being poised.

one more rant…did anyone notice when miller went out of bounds at end of third quarter they allowed the quarter to run the clock out when he went out of bounds with .09seconds left? also in the third and fourth quarter there were numerous times miller or another WR went out of bounds the clock kept running? plus the receivers usually went out on their own and not pushed out which makes even more questionable. maybe i’m crying over spilled milk but those few precious minutes might have changed the outcome.

We’ll see if SF can do what they did on the road. Justin Smith is probably a bigger factor because he patches up their defense. If Atlanta brings enough crowd noise it could unsettle Kaepernick.

This was not the worst Seattle playoff loss ever. Perhaps the most heartbreaking, but I felt the Super Bowl loss was worse not just because of the stakes but because it was stolen from Seattle.

There have been only two, perhaps three, Seattle playoff teams that haven’t had the feel of smoke and mirrors or Cinderella at midnight – the Super Bowl team, perhaps the 12-4 1984 team, and definitely this team.

If Seattle had lost big, it would have felt like this team was a bit of phony – overachievers on a hot streak playing over their head. The fact they went on the road in a hostile environment and almost won still validates them as a powerful, tough team. No one can say this team was overrated or lucky. It’s why Seattle got a lot of national respect in terms of people picking them to win, and I think Seattle validated it though they fell short.

Funny, in week one we had a championship D and a ball control O. At the end of the year we had a championship O and a bend and then break D. Sure seemed like pass rush was the issue, and I know we were down Clem and JJ, but teams/coaches have to overcome that.

After working so hard to get the lead, it’s hard to believe that we couldn’t on for 30 some seconds.

How do you summarize our season? It’s been a great year and the future certainly looks bright. The experience gained by this young team is invaluable. They learned that they are very good and can play with anyone. They gained playoff experience. They learned that they can continue to play at a very high level without star players. Clemmons was out physically, and Lynch was effectively taken out, but the Hawks bounced back in spite of it.

I’m so happy the Hawks didn’t fold. They fought hard and clawed their way back into the game, only to fall short. They will learn from this experience and be better for it next year.

yakimahawk – I did. And I understood that every possession added up to how the last possession mattered. Knowing that is why I struggle with how Carroll devalues possessions and FGs early in games. It bit him on the ass again today.

This loss really hurts.. Don’t know how long it will take for it to fade.

Can’t answer all the questions, this is a helluva good team.

I absolutely question the 4th and 1 call. I think the right move was to kick a FG and get some points on the board, I was screaming it at the TV even before they lined up for the 4th down.

The other decision I was upset with was the 3rd down near end of 1st half where they took a sack and couldn’t kick a FG. Going into that play, RW has to have it in his head that the ONLY thing that can’t happen is taking a sack.

At the end, did anyone want to see Longwell try a 65 yarder? I know it sounds crazy but I was kind of rooting for it.

“I like Carroll overall, but this is a pattern of his since he got here and it’s not the first time it’s cost them wins.”

It’s a fair point that it’s a pattern – but I don’t think it’s Carroll disrespecting points, it’s just more the nature of the way he coaches – and they way he gears up a team emotionally. All of this energy, enthusiasm, always-compete mentality is part and parcel with having an aggressive slant in the way you approach coaching the game. I guess what I’m saying, is that you take this little bit of bad, with all the good he brings, and that the two are not necessarily separable in this coach.

I’m not so sure the cap will be that big a problem. I believe that the scheme is a good fit for a number of Seattle’s players on defense, and that’s one of the secrets behind the team’s ability to find good players in low rounds of the draft.

The players being picked may not work well in other systems. Chief among them are guys like Brandon Browner. Red Bryant (though he’s already been paid.) Chris Clemons (though he’s been paid too.) I think any of the linebackers are replaceable as long as they don’t have to replace them all at once. Chancellor could help most defenses, but looks best in Seattle’s scheme.

Earl Thomas is the main guy that Seattle will end up paying huge money to (and Richard Sherman.) They will get huge contracts. In particular, I think Earl Thomas is the key player to the defense – if Earl Thomas is ever lost for an extended period of time, you’ll see the Seattle defense really take a hit.

Thomas is the guy that makes having the two huge corners work. He allows them to focus on taking away the sidelines by protecting the middle. He frees Chancellor to make the big hits and force the run. Now we know why Carroll zeroed in on him over Taylor Mays in the draft.

Thomas and Sherman are the players that clearly can work in any defense. They’ll probably end up being the highest paid Seattle defenders. If Browner or Wright or Branch or Chancellor decided to hold out for monster contracts, I think Seattle could replace them.

“one more rant…did anyone notice when miller went out of bounds at end of third quarter they allowed the quarter to run the clock out when he went out of bounds with .09seconds left? also in the third and fourth quarter there were numerous times miller or another WR went out of bounds the clock kept running? plus the receivers usually went out on their own and not pushed out which makes even more questionable. maybe i’m crying over spilled milk but those few precious minutes might have changed the outcome”

The NFL has very different timing rules than most other football leagues. In particular, if I’m remembering it correctly, if a player willingly goes out of bounds, the clock is wound when the ball is ready for play, unless there’s less than five minutes left in the half. This was a rule change they did a few years back to make the game run a bit faster.

If you’re a Seahawk fan, the end of the game scenarios all unfold like a nightmarish version of one of those choose your adventure novels. No matter what we did before, we would have still blown the lead and the game at the end, because that’s exactly what happened. Can’t escape from reality no matter how hard you try.
We just have to man up and acccept the fact that our D is not as clutch as it should be and doesn’t hold leads that well. I have a problem with the play call more than the decision to go for it on both times we went for it on 4th down. Play action to Lynch then pass to Zach or Mike Rob would have worked much better. Let’s say “Big Balls Pete” decided to kick the safe field goal, and we had an extra 3 points, then we very well might have settled for a tying field goal on our last TD drive. It also changes the way ATL’s D approaches how they defend us. That is situational football. So then the game would have been tied at 27. After that, same story then, with the D letting Matt Ryan win the game. Is it still not the defense’s fault then?
Even if we took the 3 in the first half, AND we scored the go ahead TD late, so that we were up 31-27 at the end, there is no guarantee that ATL doesn’t drive for the winning TD at the end, is there?
Or connect on a hail mary to Julio Jones or Roddy White or Tony Gonzalez? All plausible endings.
Let’s please just stop with the hypotheticals.
Only one team wins it all in the end. I thought that was going to be us for awhile though. Oh well… I do think I bought into the hype too much because so many media members jumped on the bandwagon, with Bill Simmons picking the Seahawks to make the Super Bowl, and countless others claiming that they were the most dangerous team that nobody wants to face. I think these pro athletes are way too confident and cocky to fear anyone or admit they don’t want to play someone. The rational part of me knew we had weaknesses and that they could be exposed during any playoff game, especially with Clem going down. I’m damn proud of this team, they valiantly battled their hearts out until the end. This doesn’t sting as much as 2005, because back then we were the 1 seed w/ the MVP and when they made it to the big show, I expected them to get it done. This year’s version caught me by surprise, especially towards the end when they were just hammering teams, and it would have been sweet, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it?

Zero points in the 1st half and we should’ve only been down 6-20 but PC tried to win the momemtum game in the 1st half.

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why?

The 4 & 1 call with the score 0-13, we were still in the game and 3 points would have made it 3-13 and the hawks would’ve felt good about themselves instead we turnover the ball on downs and the falcons proceed to score another TD and make it 0-20.

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations?

It fell short because I felt we were at best NFC championship game material. I have the vegas booking slip to prove it.

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they?

Common denominator of our losses at Detroit, Miami, and Atlanta (besides being in the final 2:00) is the prevent defense.
I saw Gonzalez run untouched from the line straight downfield to where he caught the pass. How does that happen?

As the old saying goes – “Dance with the girl you brung”. It should apply to defense in our case.

1. The first half was a tire fire of epic proportions. What was the worst aspect of it? Not making adjustments sooner, rushing their passer, pounding the ball up the middle when it wasnt working, zone D when man would have been a better option. Time management.

2. Pete Carroll had some regrettable decisions in this game, which do you think was his worst and why? When you can take 3 points you take them.

3. It’s been one crazy season. Regardless of how it ended, did it go beyond your expectations? I guessed 10-6 at the beginning so 11-5 was awesome beat some big boys and then left points on the field in Miami and Detroit…. that kinda sucks.

4. Obviously, the Seahawks have needs going into next year, what are they? first off a new OC, pass rusher, O-Line, WR, LB.

5. If you take one thing away from the season, what is it? This team has some really good years ahead of it. most of the pieces are there. I am already excited for the next year. but need to get over the stinging of yesterday – 31 seconds…. so close.

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